BRUNSWICK, Maine — Summer is winding down and families are preparing students to return to school. That includes families of new Mainers who came from countries in central Africa, fleeing violence and persecution.
In one Midcoast town, where several families have settled and even more arrived Friday, the school department expects around 25 to 30 kids to enroll in the coming days.
On top of the English language classes they're taking to get ready right now, there's another way they're hoping to connect with their new community and that will happen outside the classroom.
Nsiona Nguizani knows first-hand change is a challenge.
"The change is not easy," he said.
He immigrated to the United States seven years ago from Angola. Now, he's helping new Mainers in Brunswick.
"It's a work in progress," he said. "We're not going to get it all in one day."
When the town learned last month some of the asylum seekers would be living in Brunswick, Police Chief Richard Rizzo was part of a team working to hire a liaison to help them.
That person, or cultural broker as he calls himself, is Nguizani.
He speaks the three languages they speak; French, Lingala, and Portuguese. But perhaps the most important language he said is one they already know.
"Sport is just like, something so important, so universal, that pulls everyone together," explained Nguizani. "Don't care about how you look, how you speak, what accent you have. All this stuff. People just come together when it comes to sport."
He's helping the high school-aged students register for fall sports.
Greg Nadeau, Brunswick's assistant football coach, said the students, like any others, will be welcome, even if they decide to try out on the first day of school.
"We don't really have any idea of the number of kids we may get, but if they want to try a new sport, they're always welcome in Brunswick," he said.
The field will likely provide a place and hope for new Mainers to make meaningful connections.
"Just to be with other kids and their team or just to be together, the inclusion and the integration [that are] happening, it's very important," said Nguizani. "Sport is one thing that puts people together."
When the influx of asylum seekers first arrived in Maine in June, the city of Portland opened the Expo Center as an emergency shelter. As of last week, all of the nearly 450 people staying there had left. While some moved to other states, roughly 200 relocated to places across Maine like Bath, Brunswick, Lewiston, Portland, and Scarborough.
Chris Rhoades of Brunswick Landing Venture, developers of approximately 300 housing units at the former Navy base in Brunswick, offered free rent to the asylum seekers for several months.